Declan Donnelly’s long-lost relatives left ‘heartbroken’ after he says they ‘ghosted him’
The telly presenter – who is part of the beloved duo Ant & Dec – claimed his distant family ignored him as he appeared on ITV’s DNA Journey last year
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Declan Donnelly ‘s long-lost relatives were left “heartbroken” after hearing that they “ghosted him”.
The telly presenter – who is part of the beloved duo Ant & Dec – claimed his distant family ignored him as he appeared on ITV’s DNA Journey last year.
Dec’s cousin Chris McGuigan was left hurting by what he had said, as she and some other relatives were reunited with the TV star on the show.
Appearing on the show with Ant McPartlin, Dec, 45, was shocked to find out that he actually had more than a dozen cousins in the US that he had no idea about.
After making the life-changing discovery, Dec met his extended family for the first time in his life.
Emotional scenes showed Dec take a deep dive into their Irish heritage, as they discussed personal matters close to him.
But things got a little complicated when Dec claimed to have tried contacting his family several times via email, as he insisted he’s never heard back from them.
The revelation was news to Chris, who went on to share just how shocked the family was after Dec had said that.
She told The Sun : “We are stunned here [to read about the ‘ghosting’ claims] actually, because all of us have been trying to find a way to connect and follow up with Declan since the show — including Meghann.
“I believe there must be terrible miscommunication. Many of us have bonded and it has been wonderful. We would love to have that family connection and heartfelt feeling shared with Declan.”
She added: “Myself and cousin Janet have spent quite a lot of time with Meghann in Connecticut and often we were trying to reach the producers or other ITV contacts to follow up. We would love to clear this up and let Declan know that Meghann nor Janet nor anyone of the cousins are ghosting him.
“Meghann would love to connect as would myself and others. We were heartbroken to see he thinks that we would ignore him.”
At the time, Dec wrote in his and Ant’s book Once Upon a Tyne: “There was also Greg and Meg, relatives of mine in Connecticut, who were lovely and… what’s the word I’m looking for?”
Ant chipped in: “Billionaires.”
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